


Spicy Pasta

by thelibrarbian



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Fluff, Gen, Humor, Mild Language, Multiverse Shenanigans, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phone Calls, Play-Fighting Animals, Questionable Cooking Practices, Sans being a worried brother, Snowstorms, Very Minor Injuries, some drama
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2019-09-25 17:49:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17125961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelibrarbian/pseuds/thelibrarbian
Summary: After a not-actually-fight with his brother, Papyrus runs off to Underfell. Thanks to a snowstorm and a power outage, what was meant to be a spontaneous movie night turns into a week-long stay.A series of loosely connected oneshots written for12 Days of Papcest.





	1. Across the Multiverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “FELL! HOW NICE TO TALK TO YOU! SAY, DO YOU MIND IF I COME OVER?”  
> “Not at all –”  
> “WONDERFUL! BECAUSE I MAY OR MAY NOT BE ALREADY STANDING IN YOUR BASEMENT.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the first of a series of loosely connected oneshots I will be writing for [12 Days of Papcest](https://sfw12-days-of-papcest.tumblr.com/post/179954686852/12-days-of-papcest). (I will probably not write for all 12 days, but I would like to do something for at least half of them.)
> 
> Future chapters will be much shorter; this one got a little out of hand ... 
> 
> _Side note:_  
>  I have not written anything "creatively" for about two years, and I have _never_ written fanfiction _or_ a story in English before, so I'm curious to see how (badly) this goes! If you find any misspellings, grammar mistakes, or just strange expressions in my writing in general, please let me know so I can fix it!

On most days, walking home from Undyne’s house on the Surface was a good way for Papyrus to clear his head. Today was not one of those days.

_'Um, Paps … about that guard thing …'_

On most days, he would enjoy the clear winter breeze around his head, and greet both monsters and humans on the streets with a bright smile. He would _not,_ normally, replay the last conversation with his friend and ex-trainer in his mind.

_'That ‘special training’ back then, it, um, it really was just cooking lessons.'_

A young bunny monster called his name from across the street, and it took Papyrus a second to put his smile back on his face – when had it dropped? – and wave back at them.

_'What I mean is … I never actually trained you to be in the guard, Papyrus.' Undyne looked aside sheepishly, running a hand through her hair. 'Sorry, I … should have told you sooner, I guess. I just thought you’d figure it out, y’know? That it was just cooking, not guard training.'_

_'OH. OH! OF COURSE. HOW SILLY OF ME. HAHA.'_

It really was silly, wasn’t it? He should have realized that making spaghetti was not _truly_ a necessary skill for a future guardsman. Anyway, it wasn’t a big deal, right? The Royal Guard had been disbanded when the barrier was broken. Even if Papyrus could have joined them back in the Underground, it wouldn’t make any difference _now._

He shook his skull to clear his mind. There was no use dwelling on this! So he wouldn’t! Straightening his spine, he quickened his pace.

It was only a matter of minutes before he found himself at his own front door. As he fumbled for the keys in his pocket, he looked up the familiar facade. The house was built almost identical to the one in Snowdin, and now the building seemed almost nostalgic to him, a reminder of the time back before everything had changed.

Not that the changes were bad! Things were just … different now.

Very different.

Not only had Frisk the human freed monsterkind from their underground prison, but a malfunctioning machine in his brother’s basement had recently led to the accidental discovery of alternate universes – and had sent both Sans and Papyrus on an unplanned trip into a more murdery, more dangerous and much more spiky Underground. Eventually, they had found their way back home, but not without the help of the local Sans and Papyrus, dubbed Red and Fell to avoid confusion. It turned out they were actually rather nice monsters, once you got past the initial death threats!

Also, his own alternate self was second-in-command of the Royal Guard.

Papyrus quelled the spontaneous pang of misplaced jealousy. He had been there, he knew what Fell’s duties in his world encompassed, and he did not envy him for it. If anything, Papyrus was glad that at least one version of himself had succeeded in joining the guard.

He took a deep breath and put on a smile again before unlocking the door. _No use dwelling on it,_ he reminded himself.

“I’M BACK, BROTHER!” he called as he entered the living room.

Sans, half buried in the couch cushions, gave a small wave. “hey, bro. how was your stay at undyne’s?”

“GOOD! AS ALWAYS!” he said cheerfully. His cheekbones were starting to hurt.

Frowning, Sans extracted himself from the couch. “is everything okay?”

 _Darn it._ Apparently, Papyrus’ smile was not as convincing as he had thought. And when Sans looked this worried, there wasn’t any point in lying.

“IT’S NOTHING IMPORTANT.” He tried a chuckle, but it sounded forced even to himself. “DID YOU KNOW THAT UNDYNE HADN’T ACTUALLY BEEN TRAINING ME FOR THE GUARD BACK UNDERGROUND?”

An expression of guilt flashed over Sans’ face. “aw, paps …” He reached out to comfort him.

Papyrus took a step back. “DID YOU KNOW?” He tried to keep his voice neutral, non-accusing, but Sans’ shoulders still slumped down.

“listen, paps, i’m sorry, really –”

“NO, IT’S ALRIGHT. I UNDERSTAND.” He did, really. They hadn’t wanted to hurt his feelings by outright telling him that he wasn’t suited for the Guard. That he was “ _just too nice to send into battle”_ as Undyne had put it earlier. And maybe they were right! But that they thought he couldn’t handle the rejection and would rather keep lying to him for _years_ – he couldn’t help but feel slightly offended.

Sans looked up at him like a sad puppy. “you were always so happy when you talked about the guard. didn’t want to take that away from you, y’know?” For as guilty as he looked and sounded, there wasn’t a lot of regret in his voice.

Papyrus felt the remainder of his smile slip. This was no use. He needed to get away. As much as he appreciated his brother’s concern for him, he had enough of being coddled, like everyone here seemed intent on doing. He was the Great Papyrus, for stars’ sake, multiverse-traveller and vice-ambassador of monsterkind! And yet this whole Guard fiasco was just the last of many recent events that made him think not everyone had quite realized that he was, indeed, an adult. (The fact that the bunny lady from the inn was _still_ offering him lollipops was the least of his concerns.)

Why was it so hard to find someone who took him seriously?

His thoughts traveled back to Fell.

No, that was silly! He couldn’t just flee the entire universe over some maybe – slightly – hurt feelings.

But neither did he want to stay and argue – and the machine was just down the stairs. It wasn’t like he was running away, really. Just taking a short break. Paying a quick visit to his multiverse friends, like he had done before.

“um, paps?”

Papyrus cleared his nonexistent throat. “I! JUST REMEMBERED! FELL AND I HAVE ARRANGED FOR A PAPYRUS MOVIE NIGHT TODAY THAT I CLEARLY FORGOT TO TELL YOU ABOUT! SO! I MUST BE OFF!”

He didn’t wait for Sans to call him out on his threadbare excuse and was already down the stairs before his brother could get out a single word to stop him.

***

Papyrus stepped out into a basement almost identical to the one he had just left. If anything, this one looked a little more dusty – whether it was traces of dead monsters or just regular dust from disuse, he couldn’t tell. He hoped for the latter.

Even now he was almost sure that he had overreacted. He was being childish, avoiding the situation like this instead of staying and talking things out. But if he turned around now and went back home immediately, wouldn’t that seem even more immature? No, he would just stay for a few hours, hopefully clear his head, then return home, and everything would go back to normal.

And while he was here, he could just as well have the movie night he just made up! It had been a while since their last inter-dimensional meet-up, and he was curious what the skeleton brothers from this darker world had been up to.

He should call Fell and let him know about it.

The phone was picked up on the second ring. For a moment, the sound of wind was all Papyrus could hear, before Fell’s gruff voice came through the speaker. _“Creampuff?”_

Papyrus brightened at the moniker that had long since turned into an affectionate nickname. “FELL! HOW NICE TO TALK TO YOU! SAY, DO YOU MIND IF I COME OVER?”

_“Not at all –”_

“WONDERFUL! BECAUSE I MAY OR MAY NOT BE ALREADY STANDING IN YOUR BASEMENT.”

There was a pause on the other side of the line, then a huff that sounded somewhere between amused and exasperated. “I’m on my way home. Stay there, I’m coming to pick you up.” Fell hung up before Papyrus could answer.

Papyrus put the phone back in his inventory and settled down on the edge of a workbench. Just like his old house in Snowdin, the basement here did not connect directly to the living room, and after a certain … _incident_ a while ago, him and Fell had agreed that Papyrus should not walk out to the front door on his own.  

While waiting, he listened for sounds outside the basement door. It was something the previous visits to this universe had taught him: always stay alert and aware of the surroundings! Thankfully, no fights seemed to be taking place outside the basement. As a matter of fact, he didn't hear any monsters at all. It sounded like there was a storm coming up, if the occasional howling of the wind and the patter of light hail against the wall was any indication. Everyone who didn't need to be outside had probably left the streets.

Suddenly, the snow outside the basement crunched under heavy footsteps. Papyrus stood up straight. The footsteps came to a halt, a key clicked in the lock, and the door swung open.

With a blast of air, a tall skeleton stepped into the basement. Snow was clinging to his scarf and to the pointed shoulder plates of his armor, but he made no move to brush it off as he pulled the door closed behind him.  His sharp teeth were set, his expression watchful under the old scar that ran down his eye socket. Red eyelights quickly scoured the room and settled on Papyrus.

“HELLO, FELL!” Papyrus greeted.

Slowly, Fell’s posture loosened and his face relaxed into a genuine smile. With two long strides he was in front of Papyrus and pulled him into an almost bone-crushing embrace. His metal breastplate was damp from the snow and cold enough that Papyrus could feel it through his clothes as he returned the hug with just as much force.

“It’s good to see you, Creampuff,” Fell muttered against his skull before releasing him.

Papyrus stepped back just far enough that he could look Fell over. It hadn’t escaped him that his alternate self seemed more tense than usual. “IS ANYTHING CAUSING TROUBLE?”

Fell gave a noncommittal grunt. “Not yet, but there might be soon. If the weather keeps getting worse, our food transports will have a hard time getting through to Snowdin. It wouldn’t be the first time, and we are as prepared as we can be, but it is always a recipe for disaster.” He ran a hand over his skull. “We will have to wait and see. But what brings _you_ here so suddenly?”

“OH! WELL, I JUST THOUGHT WE COULD HAVE A SPONTANEOUS PAPYRUS MOVIE NIGHT!” Papyrus stifled the impulse to wring his hands. “IF YOU HAVE TIME, THAT IS.”

Fell narrowed his eye sockets at him. “And why are you _really_ here?”

***

Papyrus and Fell had moved their conversation to the living room. They were on their second cups of sea tea when Papyrus had finished recounting the events that lead to him turning up unannounced in Fell’s basement.

“ANYWAY,” he said. “I DON’T SUPPOSE THIS IS SOMETHING YOU, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE LIEUTENANT FELL, HAVE EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH, CONSIDERING YOUR WHOLE …” Papyrus made a vague hand gesture, trying to encompass Fell’s entire intimidating appearance.

“I did, actually.” Fell took a sip from his own tea. “But my Undyne never bothered to lie to me about it. Back in the day, she made it very clear that I was much too soft to ever become a guardsman.” His mouth twitched.

Oh. “REALLY? HOW DID YOU CONVINCE HER OTHERWISE?”

Fell opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was interrupted when suddenly the lights went out.

Papyrus blinked a few times. All he could see were Fell’s eyelights looking back at him from the other side of the couch. He reached over the armrest and flipped the light switch back and forth. Nothing happened. The floor lamp was equally non-functional. “ALRIGHT,” he said slowly. “DO YOU OFTEN HAVE POWER OUTAGES HERE?”

“Sometimes,” Fell answered. The couch cushions rustled as he stood up. “There’s a flashlight and candles in the kitchen, I’ll go get them.”

Papyrus stood as well, carefully made his way to the window and peeked behind the curtain. The storm had gotten worse. It was only afternoon, but with the dense snowfall blocking the artificial daylight almost entirely, it was dark enough to look like nighttime. Thick snowflakes and hailstones pounded against the window.

A door opened on the upper floor, and Papyrus spun around, dropping the curtain. He looked up to find Red, as they had chosen to call the Sans of this universe, standing at the railing, flashlight in hand. He let the beam of light wander across the living room, and Papyrus squinted as it came to rest on his face.

“heya, creampuff.” Red narrowed his sockets, but thankfully, the flashlight moved on. “the hell is going on here?”

Fell returned from the kitchen with a box of candles and a flashlight of his own. “We have a visitor. And a power outage.”

“i’ve gathered as much.” In the blink of an eye, Red was standing next to them. “one related to the other, or not?”

“I DON’T THINK SO?” Papyrus rubbed his chin. “I CAME HERE WELL BEFORE THE POWER WENT OUT, AND I HAVEN’T MESSED WITH THE MACHINE …” He trailed off as another thought struck him. _The machine._ His only way back to his home universe. The machine that certainly needed power to run. He swallowed. “SAY, HOW LONG DO POWER OUTAGES LAST HERE, USUALLY?”

“That depends on what exactly caused them,” said Fell. “With this weather, at least a few days before any repair work can start. Why?”

Papyrus opened his mouth to respond, but apparently Red had followed his train of thought. “the machine,” he mumbled. “fuck.” Before Papyrus could react, he was grabbed by the elbow and dragged through a shortcut into the basement.

It did not take long to confirm that, with the power cut off, multiverse travel was indeed impossible. Red gave the machine a final kick before turning back to the other two skeletons.

“well, creampuff,” he said with a wry smile, “how long were you planning to stay?”


	2. Tastes like Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “NOT TO WORRY, DEAR FRIEND! I HAVE NOT SET FIRE TO A KITCHEN EVER SINCE WE REACHED THE SURFACE!”  
> “... you _have_ been cooking since then, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I hope that it will mostly be obvious who is who, here's a quick nicknames list just in case:  
> Rus/Papyrus/Creampuff – Undertale Papyrus  
> Fell – Underfell Papyrus  
> Red – Underfell Sans

Fell shut the door behind him and let the warmth of the house seep into his bones. Normally, skeletons were barely affected by the low temperatures in Snowdin, but after a long day of clearing the streets and surveying the damage caused by the snowstorm last night, even he was cold. Luckily, it was only the power supply that the storm had cut off; water and heat were still running, as was the gas stove in the kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen – he could hear Rus rummage around in the cupboards. “WELCOME BACK, FELL!” he called through the doorway.

Fell only gave a grunt in response as he struggled to tug off his boots. His fingered leather gloves had not done much to keep out the cold, and his phalanges were feeling stiff and numb.

Rus came over to pick up the successfully shed boots and set them by the door. “LONG DAY?” he asked.

“Yes.” Fell flopped down on the couch without bothering to take off his armor. “But we made good progress. Most of the main street is cleared, and we can work on getting the power restored soon enough. I had to break up a few fights, but nobody's been dusted so far.” All things considered, the town had been surprisingly peaceful.

“THAT IS WONDERFUL! BY THE WAY,” Rus held up a box of noodles, “I HAVE FOUND SOME SPAGHETTI IN YOUR CUPBOARD! THEY WOULD MAKE A GREAT DINNER TODAY, DON'T YOU THINK?”

Fell nodded. “Sure.”

Grinning, Rus tossed the pasta box up in the air and caught it again with a flourish. “WILL RED BE JOINING US?”

“He went to Grillby’s, so probably not.” Fell _should_ be getting up to help his guest with the meal. But to his tired bones, the couch felt so much more comfortable than he ever remembered it to be. Suddenly, he could relate to his brother's attachment to this specific piece of furniture on a whole new level.

Rus sighed and pointed the noodles at him. “I WOULD NOT NORMALLY CONDONE SUCH LAZINESS, BUT I CAN TELL YOU HAVE HAD A HARD DAY ALREADY! SO JUST STAY THERE AND RELAX. I WILL TAKE CARE OF OUR DINNER!”

For a second, Fell consider arguing, but his exhaustion won out. As Rus disappeared into the kitchen again, he leaned back into the cushions. He closed his eyes, listening to the clatter of pots and the water rushing from the faucet. Little by little, he felt the tension drain from his limbs and a smile spread across his face.

A slightly worrying thought kept him from relaxing fully. “Hey, Creampuff?” he called without opening his eyes.

The faucet was turned off, and the pot landed noisily on the stovetop. “YES?”

“Who, did you say, taught you how to cook?”

“UNDYNE! WHY?”

Fell jumped up from the couch, dashed across the room and came to a skidding halt in the doorway. “Get out of my kitchen this instant!” he snarled.

Rus only blinked at him in confusion, then turned up the heat on the stove, entirely unperturbed. “WHY?”

“Because I know what that fish calls ‘cooking’, and I would rather not have my house burned down!” He eyed the pot warily. Could it catch on fire if it was only filled with water? He wasn't going to rule it out.

“OH!” Rus brightened. “NOT TO WORRY, DEAR FRIEND! I HAVE NOT SET FIRE TO A KITCHEN EVER SINCE WE REACHED THE SURFACE!”

“… you _have_ been cooking since then, right?”

He scoffed. “OF COURSE I HAVE! I DARE SAY THAT I HAVE IMPROVED, TOO! NOW, WILL YOU HELP ME POUND THE VEGETABLES?”

There was a small pile of tomatoes sitting on the counter. “Fine”, Fell grumbled. If he was going to trust Rus enough to let him cook, he should at least stay in the kitchen to keep any potential destruction in check. Carefully, he picked up one of the tomatoes, set it before himself and lifted his fist above it.

Rus was watching him expectantly.

Fell brought down his fist. With a squelch and a spray of juice, the vegetable succumbed to his punch. He prodded the flattened, mushy red lump and couldn’t help but feel a spark of victory.

However, Rus seemed unimpressed. “IS THAT ALL YOU CAN DO?” He, too, grabbed a tomato. “I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED MORE FROM SUCH A ‘GREAT AND TERRIBLE’ MONSTER – BUT IT SEEMS I HAVE MISJUDGED YOU.” Shaking his head in disappointment, he threw the tomato down on the counter and smashed it with both fists. Juice and tomato innards splattered across the kitchen, against the wall, and on both their faces. He wiped what already looked like spaghetti sauce from his hands and threw Fell a challenging look.

A grin spread across Fell’s face. “Oh, _it’s on._ ”

***

The kitchen was a mess. Tomato remains were clinging to every exposed surface, an assortment of spices that had narrowly missed the sauce bowl was sprinkled over the counter, and the noodle water was boiling fiercely enough to fling bits of pasta out of the pot.

With a battle cry, Fell brought a bone dagger down on the last surviving tomato. It had rolled behind the empty pasta container – a futile attempt to escape the carnage. It turned out that slashing the vegetables with magic attacks was even more effective than pounding them! The force of his strike sent bits of tomato up into the air. Rus reached forward and expertly caught them in the bowl.

At some point during their cooking, he had heard Red appear through a shortcut in the living room. The shorter skeleton only took one glance into the battlefield that was the kitchen before retreating to the couch.

“Are the noodles done yet?” Fell shouted over the bubbling water.

Rus gave the spaghetti a quick stir. “ALMOST!”

Not good enough, then! Fell reached over to adjust the temperature, but Rus caught his hand before he could turn up the heat.

“I THINK THAT IS HOT ENOUGH NOW,” he said with the wisdom of one who had seen more kitchen fires than Fell dared to imagine. “LET’S JUST LET THEM COOK FOR ANOTHER MINUTE.”

Reluctantly, Fell pulled back and instead reached for the sauce. There were still a few chunks that needed squashing.

Finally, the heat was turned down, the water drained off, and the spaghetti evenly distributed over three plates. As they carried the food into the living room, Fell’s soul felt lighter than it had in months. So what if the noodles were slightly burnt, and what if the sauce was a little too spicy from when Fell had gotten overenthusiastic with the pepper?

The pasta was just perfect.


	3. Like Cats and Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doomfanger makes an appearance. The Annoying Dog shows up as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rus - Undertale Papyrus  
> Fell/(Lieutenant) Papyrus - Underfell Papyrus

They were being watched.

Fell didn't need to turn around and look – he could feel the stare at the back of his neck. He knew that the newcomer wanted their attention, and normally he would not hesitate to give it – but right now he was preoccupied: standing on the tips of his toes, stretching over the counter to get at the tomato stains high above the kitchen unit, while trying not to step into any of the remains of their cooking session. Next to him, Rus was up to his elbows in the dishwater, scrubbing away at the plates.

A soft mewl came from the kitchen entrance.

Rus paused his vigorous dish-scrubbing and turned. “OH! HELLO THERE, DOOMFANGER!”

Fell cast a glance over his shoulder.

Just as he expected, the fluffy white cat was standing in the doorway, looking up at them with big, innocent eyes. She gracefully slunk over and started rubbing her head against Rus’ tibia.

Delighted, Rus quickly dried off his hands and bent down to scratch her behind the ears. “YOU ARE LOOKING AS FUZZY AS EVER!”

Fell let out a chuckle. “Don't be fooled by her fluffy exterior. In reality, she is –”

“‘A FEROCIOUS BEAST’, I KNOW.” Doomfanger leaned into his hand and started purring. “BUT SHE HAS A TALENT OF HIDING IT!”

Seeing that his cat was in good hands, Fell was about to continue cleaning the wall when another set of claws skittered across the living room floor. Doomfanger jumped away from Rus, arched her back and hissed, just as the second animal in the skeleton household came bolting through the doorway.

Fell let out a sigh. “When did that mutt get in again?” he muttered, with more resignation than real anger.

The mutt in question gave a happy pant and started to lick tomato sauce off the floor.

Doomfanger froze mid-hiss, looking affronted that her threatening pose was being ignored. Stalking closer to the dog, she swatted at his pointy ears. It didn’t escape Fell that her claws were retracted and her aim was slightly off.

Startled, the dog recoiled and snapped his teeth at her. He, too, didn’t seem entirely serious in his display of aggression. Doomfanger barely drew back before swiping at him again.

Fell realized just a second too late that he should have intervened. As the dog bolted after her, Doomfanger leaped up onto the counter and knocked down the sauce bowl with her jump. Rus was quick to catch it, but the noodle pot that followed didn’t have the same luck.

“Stop it, you two!” Fell shouted over the pot crashing to the floor and the dog barking in excitement. “Doomy, get down from the counter!”

Unbelievably, she obeyed – but only for the dog to chase after her. Fell only just saw the two blurs of white fur coming towards him before his feet were knocked out from under him. His jaw connected with the counter, and he bit back a hiss of pain.

Strong hands grasped his humeri and allowed him to steady himself. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Rus asked as he helped Fell back to his feet.

Fell rubbed the sore spot on his chin. “I’m fine.” He winced as Doomfanger raced over the counter again and the bowl came crashing down for good. The kitchen was already littered with tomato-stained paw prints. “But we need to put an end to this.”

Rus nodded. He turned Doomfanger’s soul blue and picked her up. “YOU TWO,” he said to the confused cat, while Fell did the same with the dog, “ARE BANNED FROM THE KITCHEN!” Together, they flung the animals through the doorway and set them down on the carpet in the living room. “NOW BEHAVE!”

***

By the time the kitchen was spotless, no more excited barks were coming from the living room.

“NOW, WHERE ARE YOU TWO LITTLE TROUBLEMAKERS?” Rus called as he slowly opened the door. “WE REALLY NEED TO TALK ABOUT PROPER KITCHEN ETIQUE…EEeeeee?” He trailed off into an unusually quiet squeal. Motioning to be silent, he elbowed Fell into the ribs and pointed across the room.

The couch cover was bunched up to messily form a nest against the armrest. There, snuggled into the fabric, cat and dog were sleeping, cuddled so close that it was almost impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. The dog was snoring softly.

Fell felt any irritation over the chaos from earlier dissipate. Moving quietly, he went over and knelt in front of the couch. Rus sat down next to him, looking as if he was barely holding back a squeal.

Doomfanger’s ear twitched, and with a soft sigh she relaxed even further into her nest.

Not many people got to see Lieutenant Papyrus, Head of Snowdin and second-in-command of the Royal Guard, coo over a pair of Surface animals. But Rus? Rus was one of them.


	4. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's Sans doing, anyway?
> 
> (Takes place between the first two chapters, the night after Papyrus leaves.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was only supposed to be a brief scene set after chapter one, but it did not want to be written! Anyway - here, take it, I've been staring at it for far too long x'D
> 
> Sans/Comic - Undertale Sans  
> Papyrus/Creampuff/Rus - Undertale Papyrus  
> Fell - Underfell Papyrus

Sans prided himself on being able to sleep anywhere, at any time. The occasions on which either Papyrus, or Toriel, or Frisk, or some random person had found him asleep in the most unconventional of places were too many to count. It was almost like its own kind of magic: no matter where he was, he only needed to close his eyes for a minute before he dozed off.

Tonight, Sans couldn’t sleep.

It was close to midnight and he was still sitting in the living room, bleary-eyed, slumped into the couch, staring at the TV without paying attention to the program, his phone next to him on the armrest. He had considered calling his brother about a dozen times since he left, but always held himself back. Sans didn’t buy the movie night excuse for one second, but it was clear that Papyrus wanted some time away from him. So much so that he had left for an entirely different universe.

Groaning, Sans buried his face in his hands. In hindsight, it had _probably_ been a bad idea to leave Papyrus in the dark about the Royal Guard. (Actually, there were a lot of things that he _probably_ shouldn’t have left Papyrus in the dark about.) Welp, no use dwelling on that now. The damage had already been done.

Sans grabbed the phone for the umpteenth time to check for any missed calls or messages. _Nothing._ He didn’t even know what he expected. His brother was probably busy having fun – if not watching a movie, then cooking, or playing board games, or doing _whatever else_ with the tall, edgy skeleton he had befriended. At least, that was what Sans choose to believe, instead of contemplating everything that could have gone wrong in that dangerous alternate universe where Papyrus had run off.

(It didn't help that for a long time now, time had been steadily progressing forward in both their universes; the time loops – or ‘resets’, as Frisk had called them – were a thing of the past. If something _did_ go wrong... there were no more do-overs.)

Sans fiddled with his phone. Should he send a text? _Could_ he send a text without coming off as overprotective? Usually, doing nothing was his favorite pastime, but now he grew more and more restless with every minute spent not doing anything. _Just checking in can’t hurt,_ he decided and typed out a quick message.

_u ok bro?_

He was about to hit ‘Send’ when the phone suddenly sprung to life.

Sans almost dropped it when the ringtone started to blare from the device, and scrambled to keep it from hitting the floor. One glance at the screen told him that it was indeed Papyrus calling.

“hey bro.” Sans tried to sound nonchalant as usual, despite his racing soulbeat. _Why_ was Papyrus calling? Had something happened? Was it even Papyrus on the phone and not somebody else calling to tell him that–

“HELLO, SANS!” The cheerful tone of what was definitely his brother's voice dispelled the worst of his fears. “I AM SURPRISED YOU ARE STILL AWAKE! I HOPE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN STAYING UP FOR MY SAKE – I WILL BE STAYING HERE FOR THE NIGHT! WHICH IS WHY I CALLED TO LET YOU KNOW!”

Sans relaxed back into the couch. Everything was fine, of course it was. Papyrus was just having a sleepover. While Sans might not be _entirely_ on board with his brother's choice of friends, this was much preferable to the more… _unfortunate_ scenarios his tired mind had come up with. 

“AND THERE’S ALSO A... SMALL PROBLEM.”

And with that, Sans was back to worrying again. “yeah?”

The long pause before Papyrus spoke again did nothing to reassure Sans. “WELL... HOW TO PUT IT... SANS, PLEASE DON’T FRET, BUT–“

If Sans hadn't been fretting before, he certainly was now. 

“–WE MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING SOME MINOR, UM, TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES??”

“whaddaya mean?” Sans’ voice came out as more of a croak.

There was another pause before Papyrus said, in a smaller voice than usual, “THE MACHINE ISN’T WORKING.”

"wait, what?" Sans took a minute to process that. “you’re _stuck_ in that hellhole?” he finally blurted out.

“IT’S NOT A HELLHOLE, SANS, DON’T BE RUDE!” Papyrus actually sounded offended on behalf of the alternate universe. 

“i'm coming over.” Before his brother could protest, Sans had already taken a shortcut to the basement and was typing coordinates into the machine. 

“SANS, I DON'T THINK THAT WILL WORK,” Papyrus commented through the phone. “LIKE I JUST SAID, OUR MACHINE IS OUT OF ORDER AT THE MOMENT, SO I'M AFRAID YOU'LL BE–”

“unable to connect,” Sans muttered, staring at the blinking line on the display screen that proclaimed the same message. His hand fell back from the control panel and hung useless at his side. 

“WELL, YES. BUT WORRY NOT, BROTHER! WHILE I WILL ADMIT THAT THE SITUATION IS… LESS THAN IDEAL–”

 _“‘less than ideal’?”_ It wasn't like Sans to get worked up about _anything,_ really, but this was about _Papyrus,_ and he couldn't just let his brother brush off the danger he was in. “paps, you're stuck in a world of _murderers_ and–”

“HEY, NOW YOU'RE BEING UNFAIR!”

An exasperated huff came through the speaker from a distance. “Hand me the phone, Creampuff.”

“WHAT? NO, I-”

A brief scuffle was heard before Fell’s voice came through the speaker much more clearly. "Comic. Calm down, and listen."

There was a commanding tone to the words that made Sans shut his mouth almost immediately. It was probably a skill that came with being second-in-command of the Royal Guard; Sans had heard this tone from Fell before. He still didn’t like it.

“The machine on our side is currently nonfunctional due to a power outage,” Fell continued. “There is no damage to the machine itself, as far as we can tell. Once the power lines are repaired, Rus will be able to return. Understood?”

Sans nodded automatically, not even thinking about the fact that this was a phone call and Fell wouldn’t be able to see his response. So… this wasn’t a long-term or permanent problem with the machine, then. Good, but it didn’t change the fact that Papyrus was stuck there _now._

Fell sighed. “Your brother is not in any danger. I will– _hey!”_ Another scuffle could be heard. 

“AS I WAS ABOUT TO SAY BEFORE I WAS SO _RUDELY INTERRUPTED,”_ Sans could almost hear Papyrus glaring at Fell, “THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO WORRY! JUST THINK OF IT AS ME BEING ON A SHORT VACATION!”

“you never take vacations,” Sans pointed out, but the fight had already left him. There wasn't anything he could do, anyway. 

“WHILE THAT MAY BE TRUE – IN THE HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION IN WHICH I WOULD, HYPOTHETICALLY, TAKE A VACATION, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO WORRY!”

That didn’t do much to reassure Sans, but it _did_ manage to draw a dry chuckle from him. “alright. guess i’ll just leave you to your ‘vacation’ then, heh. try to come back in one piece, ok?”

“BUT OF COURSE! I WILL SEE YOU SOON, BROTHER.” With the tone Papyrus used, it sounded like a promise.

After another exchange of ‘see you’s and ‘take care’s, the line went silent. Sans let out a sigh and sank back into the couch, dropping the phone on the cushion next to him.

It would be fine. Papyrus was a grown adult, a capable monster, and this wasn't his first time in that dark alternate universe. 

He would be fine. 

_He would._

**Author's Note:**

> You can visit me on [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/thelibrarbian) and [Tumblr](https://thelibrarbian.tumblr.com/) if you like!


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